Unfortunately, censorship is increasingly common in Turkey. Turkey has been on the list of countries that imprison the most writers for several years now. In 2021, a year of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, freedom of expression has not slipped through the cracks. On the contrary, publishers have seen the entry into force of new rules, sometimes pushing them to self-censor.
The Association of Turkish Publishers presents its annual report on the state of freedom of expression and freedom of publication in the country, which covers the period December 2020 — November 2021. In most countries of the world, the 2021 was marked by new travel restrictions and individual freedoms, justified by the health crisis. But to these have been added others, aimed more specifically at restricting freedom of expression.
In the rather extensive statement of investigations and lawsuits brought against publishers, authors, printers or even translators, the association notes an upward trend “in the number of lawsuits brought on the pretext of insults in books”. In addition, the organization deplores an illegal but common practice: court decisions relating to the banning of such and such a book are not notified to the interested parties, author or publisher.
Among the structures victimized by censorship in 2021, we note the presence of the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi or CHP), the main opposition party in the country: a brochure published by the latter was accused and condemned for ” incitement to hatred” towards President Erdogan, and another title was initially banned by the courts. Despite a court decision overturned on appeal, the seized copies were not returned to the CHP…
A number of legal proceedings stem from alleged “insults to President” Erdogan present in various works: political censorship that generates a current of self-censorship within publishing houses, and does not really serve, as we can see. ‘imagine, free democratic exercise.
Self-censorship extends beyond political remarks, as noted in the report of the association of publishers: the translation of the comic strip Le Fantôme armenien by Laure Marchand, Guillaume Perrier and Thomas Azuélos (Futuropolis for the French edition ) lost a few pages along the way, as publisher Aras Publishing acknowledged in its preface, “due to potential pressures and threats”.
The Memoirs of Two Young Brides, by Honoré de Balzac, in its translation for the publisher Can Publishing, no longer includes the name “Muhammed”, here too, for fear of reprisals from religious extremists…
The association’s report reviews the various lawsuits brought against writers, evoking the case of Ahmet Altan or Orhan Pamuk, in particular, but also those of journalists and writers Barış Pehlivan and Barış Terkoğlu, both threatened , with a sentence of 158 years in prison all the same…
The report also notes an increase in book and magazine bans in Turkish prisons, more specifically directed at Kurdish publications.
Turkish publishers are particularly concerned about the effects of the legislation on children’s books that the legislation calls “obscene”. Since 2018, a committee for the protection of minors from obscene publications has been reactivated by the government and, between July 2019 and November 2021, 24 books, including 15 intended for young people, were classified as “obscene”.
Among the titles targeted, two volumes of the Heartstopper comic book, by Alice Oseman, highlighted by its Netflix adaptation, or even Le Bleu est une couleurs chaud, by Jul ‘Maroh. Legislation on the subject remains very vague, which facilitates prohibitions as well as self-censorship by publishers: obscenity is characterized in the law as “texts which could have a negative influence on the morality of minors”.
The association of Turkish publishers is all the more concerned that this legislation for the protection of minors affects works that evoke gender equality or sexual diversity and freedom.
The full report, in English, is available at this address.
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